Arsenal's shift to using three at the back has prompted some intriguing selection debates. Arsene Wenger faces difficult choices over the composition of his centre-backs, whether Nacho Monreal is best deployed as a centre-half or wing-back, and just who should lead the line in this new system.

However, the most interesting battle is the one between Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Hector Bellerin for the right wing-back berth. If Wenger sticks with the new shape, he faces a tricky choice between two players who bring different attributes to the role.

Read More

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a surprise beneficiary of the new system. Changing the formation can reveal aspects of certain players that were hitherto unseen — one need only look at Victor Moses at Chelsea to see that.

Moses was a squad player with a string of unspectacular loan deals behind him. However, when Antonio Conte adapted the 3-4-3 system that has become Chelsea's trademark, the Nigerian international was the player most suited to filling in as right wing-back. He seized his opportunity in style, and has subsequently blossomed into one of the first names on the team-sheet.

Read More

Southampton vs Arsenal

Moses and Oxlade-Chamberlain do share certain attributes: both are powerful sprinters with great stamina. They're effective dribblers, able to force their way to the byline and bring width to their respective teams. Where Oxlade-Chamberlain has really come into his own is with his delivery: his crossing, whether from deep or close to the goal-line, has been outstanding.

The shift to a three at the back has necessarily made Arsenal a more cautious team, but Oxlade-Chamberlain has frequently been the man to inject attacking impetus into the side.

Read More

The reasons his emergence as a potential wing-back has caught so many off guard are two-fold. Firstly, prior to the formation change Oxlade-Chamberlain had seemed to finally be undergoing his long-anticipated transition from a wide player into a central midfielder. Wenger and the player have both always insisted his future play in the middle of the park.

Then there's the presence of Hector Bellerin in the squad. If you were designing a wing-back from scratch, it might look something the like the Spaniard. He has everything you'd want to thrive in the position — even when playing as a conventional fullback, he operates like an auxiliary winger.

Read More

The problem is that his form has been in a funk since an ankle injury in November. Bellerin never quite seemed to recover from that lay-off, losing half a yard of pace and a good deal more in confidence.

(Image: Getty Images)

Nevertheless, he would appear to be the better bet as wing-back in the long-term. For all his qualities going forward, Oxlade-Chamberlain is far from a natural defender.

His early years at Arsenal were peppered with defensive errors, frequently conceding possession deep in his own half and failing to track runners. Even as recently as the Manchester United game last week, he showed a propensity to allow the likes of Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney to dart into his channel unmarked.

Read More

A fit and in-form Bellerin has the perfect equilibrium between attacking intent and defensive diligence. It could be a position that eventually catapults him right into football's elite.

The dilemma Wenger faces is whether to drop him in and hope he plays his way into form, or persist with the flourishing Oxlade-Chamberlain. The sheer number of fixtures between now and the end of the season will force some rotation, but by and large Wenger will want to bed in a team ahead of the cup final against Chelsea on May 27.

(Image: Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Looking a little further ahead, there's another element to consider: neither player's future with the club is exactly guaranteed.

Although Bellerin signed a new long-term contract last year, there are likely to be more overtures from Barcelona this summer. Oxlade-Chamberlain is in an even more vulnerable position, with little more than 12 months to run and on his deal and reported interest from Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

Keeping Oxlade-Chamberlain in the side until the end of the season may be the most pragmatic solution. Bellerin may need a full summer off — including missing the European U-21 Championship — to return to his best.

Read More

However, if Wenger and Arsenal intend to keep this formation and indeed these players for next season, they'll have to mix things up. Bellerin will expect to play every week, while The Ox will want to assume centre-stage once more. This iteration of the formation is merely a quick-fix — in the long-term, it's surely Bellerin who will assume the right-sided role.